Client References - Still A Valuable Part of Vendor Selection?
William R. Friend - August 24, 2002

Introduction

Application Software vendors are now focusing more on the top executives or C-levels (CEO/CFO/COO/CIO) of companies, and less on IT, as their primary sales target. This changing vendor sales focus can work to keep IT organizations outside of the decision making process. When software decisions are made at the C-level, IT staff can be put on the defensive if they are pressured to make their due diligence support the top executive preference. This article discusses the reasons to establish an application software selection methodology in advance of a software purchase and the value in making client reference checks a critical part of that process...